DEATH IS DEAD

One of our good friends, Joan, died this past week. Our hearts were so sad and heavy. And our hearts ache for the family. It is so sad to say good bye.

But we have hope.

I saw her a couple of weeks before she died. We were at the nursing home and she was there for rehab. She also had her Bible with her. She told me that she knows a lady that was there and she was concerned about her salvation. So she brought her Bible to share the Gospel with this lady.

I am sure that when Joan stood before God He told her well done, good and faithful servant.

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master.'” — Matthew 25:23 ESV 

This reminds me that whenever a person turns from their sin and believes that Jesus died for them and that he conquered death, they go from death to life in an instant. For them, death is now dead.

As we enter the Easter season, we will be in Texas sharing this hope with many people.

Brett, a man named Doug, and his teenage son, met Julie in a coffee shop in Elkhart, Indiana. Julie was there because the coffee shop she wanted to go to was closed. She had just returned from a mission trip and was preparing her photos for a presentation to her church. Brett told her that they were going out into the community to love on people by talking, praying and sharing the Gospel. He invited her to join them to go out on the streets. But she said she had a prior engagement to go to a class that she had already paid for. As she was leaving, she got in her car and prayed. She asked the Lord if she should go with Brett’s group. She really felt like God wanted her to go out on the streets to share the Gospel instead of going to her class.

As Brett, Doug, and his son were walking down the street Julie came around the corner to join them. Just before they ran into Julie, Brett had asked his group, “How do you approach a woman if you don’t have a woman in your group?” And then there was Julie!  This is what happened next…….

They crossed the street and ran into an older woman, two younger women and 3 babies. As they were talking with them they were open to prayer which led into giving them wrist bands and sharing the Gospel verses with them. While sharing, it started to rain. Brett’s first thought was, “Oh no. The rain will be a distraction.”

The older woman took the 3 babies and got in the van. The other two stayed. (They were sisters.) They went under a canopy ,and when they finished sharing the Gospel with them, the one sister said she was not ready to make a decision for Christ. The other sister, Candice, said she was ready. Julie along with Brett, Doug and his son had the privilege to lead this young woman Candice to the Lord.

Candice wanted someone to disciple her, to model how to follow Christ, and help her along on her journey as a new believer. Julie is going to disciple Candice.

We all, as the body of Christ (believers), have a lot to offer.  God will use us in so many ways. It doesn’t matter how old we are or how young. Sometimes it is a small part and sometimes it is a big part. But, no part is ever any more important than another.

By the way Joan was 81 when God called her home.